2020 in the environment

This is an article of notable issues relating to the environment in 2020. They relate to environmental law, conservation, environmentalism and environmental issues.

List of years in the environment (table)

Environmental law

From 1 January 2020, ships will only be permitted to use fuel oil with a very low sulfur content. The International Maritime Organization estimates that the new limit of 0.5% sulfur content, down from 3.5%, will cut sulfur dioxide emissions from ships by about 8.5 million tonnes.[1]

The Pacific nation of Palau bans sun cream that is harmful to corals and sea life in January 2020.[2]

Coronavirus pandemic
Further information: COVID-19 pandemic

In February - March 2020 campaigners say that governments should act with the same urgency on climate as on the coronavirus. The health crisis is reducing carbon emissions more than any policy.

  • Global air traffic decreased by 4.3% in February 2020 with cancellations of tens of thousands of flights to affected areas.[3]
  • Chinese measures against coronavirus in Feb 2020 reduced coal consumption at power plants 36%, oil refining capacity 34% andssatellite-based NO2 levels 37%.[4]

Events and news

January

The Australian wildfires in January 2020 were intense. Thousands of people have evacuated from north-east Victoria, East Gippsland, and the south coast of NSW.[5] Australia's bushfire crisis is expected to contribute up to 2% of what scientists forecast will be one of the largest annual increases in atmospheric carbon dioxide on record. In the forecast by the British Met Office climate gas concentration is projected to peak at more than 417 parts per million in May 2020.[6]

The UN Convention on Biological Diversity drafted proposal to prevent reverse biodiversity decline that risks the survival of humanity:
Almost a third of the world's oceans and land should be protected by the end of the decade.[7]

Storm Gloria in Spain: Seawater flooded ca 30sq km of rice plants, killed people, blocked roads, power cuts and damaged beaches around Barcelona, Valencia and on the Balearic Islands.[8]

2020 Elazığ earthquake with a magnitude of 6.8 killed at least 20 people in eastern Turkey.[9]

WHO declared a global public health emergency in the end of January 2020 because of the spread of the virus outside China.[10]

Deforestation in the Amazon rainforest in Brazil more than doubled in January 2020 compared with the previous year,[11] the Amazon rainforest biodiversity is huge and is the most species-rich biome, and tropical forests in the Americas are consistently more species rich than the wet forests in Africa and Asia.[12] Deforestation in the Amazon rainforest may influence the climate worldwide.

February

In February 2020, European Storm Ciara — known as Sabine in Germany and Switzerland and Elsa in Norway — stopped aviation and train traffic in many countries because of in maximum over 30 m/s wind speeds.[13] Storm Ciara helps plane beat transatlantic flight record from New York to London in 4 hours and 56 minutes.[14]

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration warned of the massive coral bleaching in Great Barrier Reef. After mid February model forecasts suggested that “2020 is likely to be the most extensive coral bleaching event that we have seen so far” on the reef. In 2016 and 2017, back-to-back bleaching killed about half the reef's corals.[15]

In February 2020, the JPMorgan Chase report on the economic risks of human-caused global heating warned clients that the climate crisis threatens the survival of humanity and that the planet.[16]

Hundreds of properties flooded in the UK after the Storm Dennis In February 2020. Storm hit large areas including the United Kingdom, The United States, Canada & Mexico, Ireland, Sweden and the Netherlands.[17]

In February 2020, the UN issued a warning about the numbers of desert locusts in East Africa.[18]

See also

References
  1. Shipping fuel regulation to cut sulfur levels comes into force. New rules introduced by International Maritime Organization expected to reduce certain forms of air pollution The Guardian 1 Jan 2020
  2. Palau is first country to ban 'reef toxic' sun cream The Guardian 1 Jan 2020
  3. could cause fall in global CO2 emissions Guardian 10 Mar 2020
  4. As China battles one of the most serious virus epidemics of the century, the impacts on the country’s energy demand and emissions are only beginning to be felt. Carbon Brief 4 March 2020
  5. Tens of thousands flee in mass bushfire evacuation – as it happened before Guardian 3 Jan 2020
  6. Australian bushfires to contribute to huge annual increase in global carbon dioxide The Guardian 24 Jan 2020
  7. UN draft plan sets 2030 target to avert Earth's sixth mass extinction The Guardian 15 Jan 2020
  8. Storm Gloria floods major river delta in eastern Spain BBC 22 Jan 2020
  9. Multiple fatalities after earthquake hits eastern Turkey The Guardian 25 Jan 2020
  10. Virus death toll reaches 213 in China – as it happened The Guardian 31 Jan 2020
  11. Amazon deforestation for January hits record Feb 8, 2020
  12. Turner, I.M. (2001). The ecology of trees in the tropical rain forest. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge. ISBN 0-521-80183-4
  13. In pictures: Storm Ciara batters north-western Europe BBC 10 February 2020
  14. Storm Ciara helps plane beat transatlantic flight record BBC 9 February 2020
  15. Great Barrier Reef could face 'most extensive coral bleaching ever', scientists say Guardian 21 Feb 2020
  16. Guardian 21 Feb 2020
  17. torm Dennis: flood-hit communities brace for more heavy rain Rivers Severn, Teme and Wye will remain high as rain builds up again from Wednesday morning Guardian 21 Feb 2020
  18. The five: things you need to know about locusts Guardian 15 Feb 2020
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